3 booked for duping bank of ₹18.70L in gold loan fraud

In March 2022, Anil Mote, resident of PMGP Colony, Mankhurd, approached the bank and took two gold loans. An amount of ₹18.70 lakh was transferred to Mote’s bank account after the external valuer Bhairawlal Jain of Motaba Jewellers certified the gold bangles, chain, and bracelet weighing 273.9 grams as genuine gold

MUMBAI: Three persons, including an external bank valuer, a customer, and a borrower, were booked for duping a bank of ₹18.70 lakh by mortgaging fake gold jewellery.

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The complaint, Sanjay Varkhade, senior manager of GS Co-operative Bank, Colaba branch, lodged a complaint against Anil Mote, Devidas Kawad, and the bank valuer Bhairulal Jain.

According to the police, the accused, with the bank valuer, took two gold loans from the bank by depositing fake gold jewellery. “In March 2022, Anil Mote, resident of PMGP Colony, Mankhurd, approached the bank and took two gold loans. An amount of ₹18.70 lakh was transferred to Mote’s bank account after the external valuer Bhairawlal Jain of Motaba Jewellers certified the gold bangles, chain, and bracelet weighing 273.9 grams as genuine gold,” said a police officer from Colaba police station. The loan amount carried interest at the rate of 8 percent per annum.

For eleven months, the accused paid installments regularly. On March 8, 2023, the loan term expired, and therefore the bank started sending them notices to pay the money or else they will sell the gold jewellery.

“Mote approached the bank and told them that he had taken the loan and deposited the gold on the instructions of Kawad, and if they were selling it, he should also be informed as he had transferred the money immediately after getting the loan amount into Kawad’s bank account. He also told the bank he was not in a capacity to repay the loan amount,” said the police officer.

The bank then opened the gold in the presence of the witnesses and found that it was fake, said the officer. “As the bank was cheated, it lodged a complaint against the three including the valuer. We have found Mote is a fisherman, whereas Kawad owns a trawler while Jain is a gold shop owner,” said the police officer.